'■■■  '   s*^  -    i-  '^i^'V'/,--, 


'  -     -"•     ■'    :'V.,-      ••,-/-  T'     ■     ■•■■■■•■•,        T    .z--    -i',^;-     >1<^"'-.  '    .4f   Ti 


I 


"^t^l 


^.^■-: 


^<^W^^^w^i^#i^x^-<;^^^-^-^^ 


COMPLIMENTS 

JOHN  J.  LINSOIT, 

SENATOR, 


'^ 


"^•fKJ 


.^'^   s- 


-^ 

*^>Wf   -^^^^'v^:-.  =-  ■-J- 


M'^' 


V:-^^^i^ 


J^A. 


%M  Witmoxhxm. 


& 


IJcurxj  It  goxu. 


"  In  halls  of  State  he  stood  for  many  years. 
Like  fabled  knight,  his  visage  all  aglow, 
Receiving,  giving  sternly,  blow  for  blow; 
Champion  of  right." 


PROCEEDINGS 


SENATE 


^tate  of  ^eiu  ilovU^ 


ox  THE  DEATH  OF 


Hon.  henry   R.  LOW. 


ALBANY : 

THE  TROY  PRESS  COMPANY,  PRINTERS. 

i88q. 


12^ 


PROCEEDINGS 


Senate  of  the  State  of  new  York, 


ON  THE   DEATH  OF 


l^ou;  |(mvi)   |l.  %om. 


IN  SENATE. 

January  1,  1889. 

Mr.  Veddee  offered  the  following  : 

Whereas,  On  the  occasion  of  its  convening  to-day 
the  Senate  is  deprived  by  death  of  the  presence  of  one 
of  its  members,  the  late  Henry  E.  Low,  the  represent- 
ative of  the  Thirteenth  district,  who  died  in  the  city  of 
New  York  on  the  first  day  of   December  last;  and 

Whereas,  His  long  and  distinguished  career, 
especially  as  a  member  of  this  body,  calls  for  honor- 
able recognition  by  his  colleagues ;  be  it,  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  a  committee  of  five  be  appointed  by 
the  President  of  the  Senate  to  prepare  resolutions  com- 
memorative of  the  character  and  services  of  our  late 
associate,   and   that   Thursday,   the   seventeenth   instant. 


550866 


Icolslatiuc  gvoccctUuos. 


be  designated  as  the  day  for  receiving  and  acting  upon 
the  resolutions  thus  to  be  prepared  and  submitted  for 
the  consideration  of  the  Senate. 

The  Peesident  put  the  question  whether  the 
Senate  would  agree  to  said  resolution,  and  it  was 
decided  in  the  affirmative. 

The  Peesident  appointed  as  such  committee 
Messrs.  Veddee,  Sloan,  Eewin,  McNaughton  and 

PlEECE. 


IN  SENATE. 

January  16,  1889. 

Mr.  Veddee,  from  the  special  committee  ap- 
pointed to  prepare  resolutions  in  reference  to  the 
death  of  the  Hon.  Heney  R.  Low,  asked  that  the 
time  for  presenting  said  resolutions  be  extended 
until  Monday  evening,  February  fourth. 

The  Peesident  put  the  question  whether  the 
Senate  would  agree  to  said  reciuest,  and  it  was 
decided  in  the  affirmative. 


IN  SENATE. 

February  4,  1889. 

Mr.  Vedder,  from  the  select  committee  ap- 
pointed to  prepare  resolutions  commemorative  of 
the  character  and  services  of  Hon.  Heney  R.  Low, 
late  Senator,  offered  the  following : 

Whereas,  The  Hon.  Henry  R.  Low,  a  Senator  of  this 
State,  and  President  pro  tempore  of  this  body,  died  in 
the  city  of  New  York,  on  the  1st  day  of  December,  1888 ; 
be  it,  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  holding  his  memory  in  affectionate 
regard,  we  mourn  his  untimely  death. 

Resolved,  That  in  the  office  of  Senator  he  exhibited 
the  highest  gifts  of  statesmanship,  the  loftiest  patriotism 
and  the  most  stainless  integrity,  and  that  in  his  death 
the  State  has  lost  a  faithful  servant,  liberty  an  advocate 
and  humanity  a  friend. 

Resolved,  That  his  private  life  was  as  pure  and  gentle 
as  his  public  career  was  noble  and  distinguished,  and 
that  we  tender  to  his  family  the  sympathy  which  flows 
from  hearts  which  are  deeply  moved  with  a  great  sorrow. 

Resolved,  That  these  resolutions  be  engrossed,  and  a 
copy  thereof  be  presented  to  his  children. 

Senator  Sloan  spoke  as  follows  : 
Mr.   President  :    It  sometimes  happens  in  our 
experiences  that  we  listen  to  tributes  to  departed 


gccjistatitrc  groccctlings. 


friends  so  laudatory  as  to  be  manifestly  over- 
wrought. Such  tributes  are  not  grateful  because 
unreal.  They  fail  to  hold  the  mirror  up  to  nature. 
While  the  omission  of  some  defect  of  character 
may  well  be  pardoned  at  such  a  time,  violations 
of  truth  can  not  be.  But  when  a  career  is  ended 
of  which  it  can  be  said  that  it  epitomized  faithful 
public  service,  good  citizenship,  loyal  friendships, 
kind  intercourse  with  neighbors,  devoted  head- 
ship to  the  family,  we  say,  in  truth,  that  a  great 
loss  has  been  sustained.  Such,  I  believe,  without 
coloring,  was  the  career  of  our  late  associate. 

Only  as  a  Senator  can  I  speak  from  personal 
knowledge  of  Senator  Low,  but  the  testimony  of 
friends,  the  tributes  everywhere  heard  in  the 
community  where  he  lived,  so  abundantly  attest 
his  sympathy  with  the  public  welfare,  as  also  the 
possession  of  exemplar}^  traits  of  character,  that 
there  is  no  need  for  me  to  speak  in  praise,  except 
as  I  knew  him  in  our  relations  as  members  of  this 
body.  It  may  well  be  left  to  the  city  of  Middle- 
town  to  proclaim  his  enterprise  and  public  spirit. 
I  am  told  that  there  are  few  business  organiza- 
tions, industrial  in  their  character,  originating  in 
combined  effort  in  that  city,  with  which  our 
friend  was  not  at  some  stage  of  their  existence 
in  greater  or  less  degree  identified.  He  was  in 
the  front  always  as  a  benefactor  of  his  city,  as  he 


was  also  in  the  front  as  an  indefatigable  worker 
for  the  district  he  represented  in  this  body.  So, 
too,  was  he  an  able,  industrious  and  aggressive 
advocate  of  all  that  he  believed  to  be  advanta- 
geous to  the  State.  Senator  Low  was  a  man  whose 
evolution  of  subjects  brought  out  pronounced 
convictions.  His  convictions  were  not  the  reflex 
of  the  opinions  of  others.  They  were  emphat- 
ically his  own,  and  he  had  the  courage  of  his 
convictions. 

We  all  know  of  his  persistence  in  contending 
for  the  adoption  of  measures  which  he  espoused 
during  the  years  of  his  service  here.  I  think  it 
maybe  said  that  no  Senator  was  more  watchful 
of  general  legislation.  Apparently  he  was  im- 
pressed with  the  responsibility  which  long 
service  imposes.  Therefore,  his  voice  was  never 
silent  when  he  thought  it  ought  to  be  heard. 

Senator  Low  was,  in  one  respect,  the  most 
remarkable  man  I  ever  knew.  I  do  not  recall 
another  legislator  of  my  acqnaintance  who,  when 
burdened  with  so  many  responsibilities  as  to  be 
really  overburdened,  was  willing  to  take  on  new 
ones,  as  Senator  Low  was  always  ready  to. 

Many  times  he  has  talked  with  me  in  com- 
mittee, and  elsewhere,  about  the  possibility  of 
formulating  new  policies,  when  I  knew  that  he 
had  more  work  to  perform  than  from  my  point 


gc0i5lutiiJC  gvocccdiucis. 


of  view  it  was  possible  to  compass  ;  and  yet  he 
would  be  interested  and  eager  to  lend  the  assist- 
ance of  his  advocacy  to  any  new  measure,  or  to 
make  his  influence  felt  in  opposition,  as  the 
opinions  he  entertained  might  dictate. 

Literally  he  seemed  never  to  have  enough  to 
do,  and  yet  with  all  of  his  cares,  under  the 
pressure  of  responsibilities  grave  and  urgent,  he 
was  ever  the  courteous  gentleman,  lending  his  ear 
and  counsel,  as  if  his  mind  were  as  free  as  the 
air  we  breathe,  to  help  in  the  attainment  of  ends 
which  his  judgment  approved. 

In  this  regard  he  was  extraordinary,  if  I  may 
not  say,  indeed,  that  he  was  a  unique  personality. 
To  the  possession  of  this  quality  of  even  temper, 
united  with  determination  and  vigor,  it  is  not 
too  much  to  say,  the  State  is  indebted  for  some 
of  its  most  benefincet  legislation. 

Especially  was  Senator  Low's  advocacy  valu- 
able in  the  enactment  of  laws  to  protect  the 
agricultural  and  dairy  interests  of  the  State.  I 
think  I  do  not  state  the  case  too  strongly  when 
I  say  that  the  dairymen  of  the  State  of  New 
York  look  upon  the  death  of  Senator  Low  as  an 
irreparable  loss. 

They  had  learned  to  lean  upon  him  as  their 
never-failing  and  never-hesitating  champion. 
They    recognize    the    fact   that   his    advocacy    of 

lO 


their  interests  was  always  a  potent  influence  in 
their  favor.  They  have  a  conviction  that  without 
that  advocacy  their  success  in  advancing  meas- 
ures of  legislation  would  have  been  less  assured 
and,  in  all  probability,  less  promptly  realized.  I 
know  from  expressions  of  its  members  at  a  late 
meeting  of  the  State  Association,  what  the  pre- 
vailing opinion  is.  The  members  of  that  asso- 
ciation feel  that  a  friend  indeed  has  gone.  They 
feel  that  Senator  Low's  death  is  not  only  a 
misfortune  to  them,  but  a  misfortune  to  the 
district  he  represented,  as  well  as  to  the  State 
at  large.  These  gentlemen  were  attached  to 
him,  not  only  by  ties  of  gratitude  for  the  ser- 
vice rendered  them,  but  they  were  his  personal 
friends,  and  they  loved  him  for  himself,  apart 
from  other  considerations. 

Senator  Low  was  indeed  a  lovable  man  ;  not, 
in  the  common  acceptation  of  the  term,  a  mag- 
netic man,  and  yet  he  was  a  most  agreeable  com- 
panion. He  loved  the  society  of  his  friends.  He 
found  pleasure  in  elevating  associations.  In  the 
intercourse  of  those  who  gathered  about  him 
he  contributed  intellectuality  and  cheer.  His 
knowledge  was  general,  practical  and  accurate. 
He  told  what  he  wanted  to  tell  with  cleverness 
and  force,  and  no  one  possessed  keener  apprecia- 
tion of  the  refinements  of  humor  than  he. 


"r 


J,*CCli6lUtU1C  ^V0CCC(UUC|5. 


Senator  Loav  had  not  reached  the  age  which 
would  identify  him  with  the  gentlemen  of  the  old 
school  ;  and  3^et,  in  some  respects,  he  reflected 
that  mold  of  manhood.  His  was  not  the  tempera- 
ment however,  to  incline  one  to  be  placed  in  that 
relation,  because  in  our  interpretation,  a  gentle- 
man of  the  old  school  is  more  an  observer  than 
an  actor  in  the  drama  of  life.  Senator  Low  was 
not  the  man  to  ever  have  reached  a  period  of 
inactivity.  Though  he  had  lived  to  the  allotted 
time  of  three-score  years  and  ten,  or  even  four- 
score years,  I  believe  he  would  still  have  been 
found  in  the  harness,  unless  restrained  by  dis- 
abling causes. 

But  for  this  pervading  energy  of  his  charac- 
ter, he  might  in  the  evening  of  life  have  settled 
into  the  typical  old-school  gentleman.  I  say  this 
because  of  his  native  refinement,  his  culture,  his 
courtesy,  his  generosity;  but  notwithstanding  the 
possession  of  these  qualities,  qualities  implied  by 
the  soubriquet,  the  activity  of  his  nature  was 
a  constant  contradiction  of  such  an  ideality. 
It  might  be  said  of  Senator  Low  that  while 
ho  was  a  gentleman  of  the  old  school,  he  was 
yet  a  type  of  Americanism  which  knows  no 
restraint ;  a  combination  of  energy  and  ur- 
banity not  (piite  common  in  the  civilization  of 
our  day. 


%n  ^anovimn. 


Although  sixty -two  years  of  age  when  he 
died,  no  one  who  knew  Senator  Low,  at  the 
close  of  the  session  of  the  last  Senate,  would 
have  considered  him  other  than  a  man  in  the 
maturity  of  active  manhood. 

When  we  parted  company  in  this  chamber, 
less  than  a  year  ago  however  —  at  the  beginning 
of  the  season  when  the  redolence  of  flowers  and 
the  songs  of  birds  filled  the  air  with  gladness,  a 
time  when  one  would  wish  to  live  always  —  we 
saw,  I  think,  that  the  form  and  features  of  our 
friend  foretold  his  doom. 

I  know  that  something  seemed  to  tell  me 
that  another  spring-time  would  find  the  chair  of 
the  absent  Senator  empty.  And  so  it  is.  Loving 
hands  have  placed  flowers  where  he  sat.  We 
look  at  these  flowers,  these  tokens  of  affection, 
these  emblems  of  mortality,  and  while  we  look 
at  them  we  recall  only  pleasant  recollections  of 
his  presence. 

If  moistened  eyes  turn  that  way,  tell  me 
not  that  they  turn  in  weakness.  Tell  me 
not  that  tears  may  be  shed  by  women  only. 
Tears  may  be  shed  by  strong  men  when  a  brother 
falls,  and  they  may  be  shed  without  confessing 
weakness,  without  dishonor.  Senators,  the  death 
of  one  of  our  number  comes  very  close  to  all  of 
us,  not   only   in    sundering   ties  of   brotherhood, 

13 


I^ccjislatixjc  gvocccdhi06. 


which  grow  out  of  our  associations  here, 
but  when  the  circle  of  thirty-three  men 
is  broken  even  by  the  loss  of  one,  it  speaks 
perforce  a  word  we  ought  not  to  treat  indif- 
ferently. We  know  that  "it  is  appointed  unto 
all  men  once  to  die,"  and  yet  death  in  itself  is  so 
impenetrable  a  mystery  that  few  of  us  care  to 
dwell  upon  its  meaning.  We  know  that  it  comes 
nearer  with  each  recurring  day  and  hour.  It  is 
well  that  we  are  buoyed  with  hope,  that  we  can 
contemplate  death,  and  yet  not  realize  in  our 
own  personalities  how  near  it  may  be,  or  that  in 
the  light  of  human  ken,  every  moment  of  our 
lives,  it  is  as  near  to  us  as  it  is  to  others.  True, 
we  see  that  the  flight  of  time  is  to  all  alike,  and 
not  less  marked  by  the  sun  than  the  daily  less- 
ening period  of  our  existence  is. 

Also,  true  it  is,  that  these  flying  years  bring  new 
environments.  Darker  shadows  cross  our  path. 
We  turn  away  from  these  shadows  to  live  in  the 
fantasy  of  earlier  days.  But  when  we  come  back 
to  the  realities  about  us,  a  grimmer  humor  veils 
our  eyes ;  speculation  takes  the  place  of  fancy, 
imagination  sinks  into  philosophy,  and 

"  As   life  runs    ou,    the   road    grows    strange 
With   faces    new,    and   near   the   end 
The   mile-stones   into    head-stones   change, 
'Neath   every   one    a   friend." 

14 


%\x  ptcinoritim. 


Senator  Piekce  spoke  as  follows  : 
Mr.  President  :  The  customary  period  of  pub- 
lic mourning  for  eminent  citizens  who  have  served 
and  adorned  our  State  and  country  and  passed 
away  while  in  the  exercise  of  important  official 
functions,  made  appropriate  by  the  decease  of  our 
colleague  while  holding  the  constitutional  office 
of  temporary  president  of  the  Senate,  is  about 
expiring.  The  drapery  that  for  the  past  month 
has  lain  in  solemn  folds  over  his  vacant  desk 
and  sadly  festooned  the  chair  of  the  President 
of  the  Senate,  to  symbolize  the  shadow  cast, 
not  only  in  this  chamber,  but  over  the  State, 
when  the  angel  of  death,  on  his  tireless  wings, 
paused  and  hovered  in  his  endless  flight  and 
fixed  his  fatal  glance  on  our  departed  colleague, 
is  now  to  be  removed.  These  symbols  have 
been  the  catafalque  of  Heney  R.  Low  ;  they  in- 
dicate that  by  public  authority  he  was  lying  in 
solemn  state  in  the  principal  chamber  of  the 
Capitol  assigned  for  legislative  deliberation.  The 
distinction  of  beiug  leader  of  the  Senate  (not 
new  to  him),  was  readily  accorded  to  him  by  us 
when  he  returned  to  it  after  an  absence  of  nearly 
twenty  years,  ripe  in  experience  and  rich  in  the 
wide  reputation  for  probity  and  genius  and  public 
usefulness,  acquired  in  projecting  and  carrying 
out  enterprises,  vast  in  their  scope  and  grandly 

13 


^C0islatiuc  gvoccctUngs. 


beneficent  in  their  conception  and  results. 
Twenty-six  years  ago,  nineteen  of  which  he  was 
absent  from  the  Senate,  he  was  the  acknowl- 
edged leader  of  the  Senate  and  of  his  party, 
and  chairman  of  the  Republican  State  Committee. 
He  thought  and  breathed  a  political  atmosphere 
that  was  not  altogether  fragrant  to  me,  but  which 
gave  such  vigor  to  him,  then  scarcely  thirty - 
seven  years  of  age,  as  led  his  then  elastic  step 
by  sweeping  strides  to  the  front  of  his  party,  and 
enabled  him  to  largely  contribute  to  the  mold- 
ing of  those  sentiments  and  influences  which 
precipitated  our  late  civil  conflict,  but  seemed 
to  want  the  energy  demanded  at  the  time  for  a 
more  vigorous  prosecution  of  the  war.  It  so  hap- 
pened, in  the  winter  of  1863,  soon  after  Horatio 
Seymour  had  been  elected  Governor  of  this  State 
on  the  issue  of  a  more  vigorous  prosecution  of 
the  war,  that  a  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  for 
the  northern  district,  where  I  was  born  and 
reared  to  manhood,  invited  me  to  accompany 
him  on  a  visit  to  Albany.  His  political  biases 
were  decidedly  Republican  —  mine  were  as  de- 
cidedly Democratic  ;  but  as  we  were  equally 
patriotic  in  an  ardent  desire  to  put  down  the 
rebellion,  he  did  not  hesitate  to  introduce  me 
to  his  Republican  friends,  among  whom  was  a 
noted  Republican  partisan,  who,  honored  and  re- 

16 


%n  Uflcnvciviam. 


spected,  has  passed  into  the  political  history  of 
the  State  as  one  of  its  Senators  and  prominent 
Republican  leaders,  greatly  persuasive  in  the 
councils  of  the  party  at  the  time.  I  refer  to 
Senator  Ben  Field.  After  some  conversation 
it  vp'as  arranged  that  they  should  call  on  Judge 
Low,  who  then,  as  lately,  was  the  sitting  Senator 
from  the  Orange  and  Sullivan  district,  and  I  was 
invited  to  go  with  them.  We  found  Judge  Low 
in  his  apartments  at  the  Delavan  House,  and 
very  shortly  he  remarked  that  he  had  been  pre- 
paring an  address  as  chairman  of  the  Republican 
State  Committee  to  the  people  of  the  State,  and 
invited  us  to  hear  it  read.  It  was  a  powerful 
appeal  to  the  patriotism  of  our  citizens  to  sustain 
the  war  by  upholding  the  Republican  party.  I 
was  impressed  by  the  strength  of  its  incisive  and 
unadorned  statement  of  the  remedies  it  proposed 
for  the  appalling  disasters  that  had  in  swift  suc- 
cession befallen  the  Union  armies  —  our  reverse  at 
Stone  river  had  just  astounded  the  country.  I  will 
not  speak  further  of  the  address  than  to  say 
that  it  was  shortly  afterward  promulgated  as  a 
party  manifesto  and  was  hailed,  not  only  in  this 
State,  but  in  all  the  loyal  States,  as  the  mani- 
festo of  the  Republican  party.  It  became  an 
accepted  model  of  similar  addresses  of  the  party 
everywhere  ;  platforms  of  conventions  were  built 


CSf* 


gcgisUitixic  groccctUugs. 


on  it,  and  legislation  in  all  the  loyal  States,  as  to 
providing  for  the  vote  of  the  Union  soldier  in  the 
field  which  its  author  carried  through  our  Legis- 
lature, was  stimulated,  if  not  suggested,  by  it. 
There  was  something  more  than  mere  sugges- 
tion of  remedies  that  could  be  put  on  the  statute 
book  in  that  document.  It  called  for  a  more 
vigorous  prosecution  of  the  war  by  the  agency 
of  moral  sentiment — the  sword  of  the  spirit  of 
the  Union  cause,  so  to  speak,  such  as  Cromwell  and 
Milton  evoked  in  the  Covenanters  who  fought  at 
Marston  Moor.  It  was  conceived  to  show  that 
the  form  of  patriotism  then  conspicuous  in  the 
Lincoln  and  Seward  Republicanism  and  the 
Horatio  Seymour  war  Democracy,  which  aimed 
only  to  save  the  Union  for  itself  alone,  with  or 
without  slavery,  could  not  give  a  more  vigorous 
prosecution  of  the  war ;  that  death  to  slavery  as 
the  ruling  purpose  of  every  Union  soldier  and 
statesman,  could  alone  make  Union  armies  vic- 
torious and  save  the  nation.  I  have  often  mar- 
veled at  the  results  wrought,  as  I  firmly  believe, 
by  that  address.  It  overthrew  the  Seward  and 
Weed  leadership  of  the  Republican  party  in  this 
State  and  transferred  it  to  Governor  Fenton. 
It  menaced  the  renomination  of  Lincoln  at  Balti- 
more in  1864.  It  resulted  in  the  recoil  which 
happens    often    in    the    law    which    compels    ex- 


tremes  to  meet.  By  success  becoming  too  suc- 
cessful, it  gave  Horace  Greeley  the  nomination 
and  support  of  the  Democratic  party  for  the 
presidency  in  1872.  I  have  always  regarded 
Henry  R.  Low  as  the  primal  author  of  these 
things  The  lines  of  his  political  life  are  broadly 
delineated  in  the  address  and  are  the  logic  of  it. 
He  was  chairman  of  the  Republican  State  Com- 
mittee when  it  was  issued.  He  thereupon  be- 
came the  leader  of  our  State  Senate,  which  was 
then  almost  unanimously  Republican,  though 
Charles  James  Folger  was  his  colleague,  and 
other  master-minds  were  there  ;  and  that  leader- 
ship was  neither  lost  or  impaired  while  he  sat 
in  the  Senate.  He  was  an  oracle  on  all  debated 
questions.  His  influence  was  considered  equally 
persuasive  in  the  Assembly  and  Executive  cham- 
ber. No  suggestion  of  prostitution  of  this  enor- 
mous influence  to  private  gain  or  advantage  was 
ever  whispered.  The  Weed  dynasty  was  over- 
thrown and  Fenton  became  Governor  in  1864. 
Judge  Low  was  his  most  trusted  adviser.  The 
Chase  movement  to  either  prevent  the  renomi- 
nation  of  Lincoln  in  1864  or  compel  him  to  a 
change  of  policy  indicated  in  Judge  Low's  ad- 
dress, was  indorsed  by  nearly  every  Republican 
member  of  the  Legislature  of  this  State  in  the 
session  of  that  year  in  a  formal  document  drawn 


19 


CQislutiuc  ^\*ciccctUnc!i6. 


and  circulated  by  him,  which  was  published  by 
the  New  York  Tribune,  with  vigorous  support- 
ing editorials,  in  leaded  type,  from  the  master- 
pen  of  Horace  Greeley.  This  document  was 
widely  circulated  and  became  a  potent  factor  in 
shaping  the  platform  and  party  pledges  de- 
manded from  President  Lincoln,  and  a  different 
nomination  by  the  Republican  party  as  a  condi- 
tion of  his  nomination  by  the  Republican  party. 
Judge  Low's  first  period  of  continuous  service 
in  the  Senate  embraced  three  terms,  covering 
the  years  extending  from  1862  to  1868.  Those 
were  the  most  eventful  years  in  the  history  of 
our  State  and  nation,  and  he  was  during  them 
all  the  unquestioned  leader  of  the  Senate  of  this 
great  commonwealth.  On  her  stalwart  arm  the 
republic  leaned  and  to  her  the  eyes  of  the 
nation  were  turned.  There  was  no  doubt  of  her 
patriotic  impulses,  no  fear  of  her  fealty.  But 
there  was  apprehension  that  corruption  in  the  ad- 
ministration of  her  local  governments  ;  city  and 
county  would  sap  her  generous  life  and  weaken 
her  potent  arm  ;  that  the  accumulation  of  wealth 
and  the  development  of  resources  would  not 
keep  pace  with  ^improvident  and  criminal  ex- 
penditures, which  at  once  impoverish  and  cor- 
rupt a  commonwealth.  The  grandest  political 
States  are  most  exi)Osed  to  these  dangers.     This 


Ju  I^^Xcnvovutm. 


Judge  Low  appreciated  more  keenly  than  any 
man  I  ever  met,  and  his  views  came  to  be  well- 
known  during  this  first  period  of  his  service  in 
the  Senate.  He  also  appreciated  that  the  point 
of  greatest  danger  lay  in  local  administration, 
whether  in  hamlet,  village,  city  or  county.  He 
saw  the  multitude  of  cities  in  our  State  lifting  up 
their  municipal  crowns  in  rivalry  and  pride,  and 
among  the  great  cities  of  Brooklyn  and  New 
York,  whose  vast  and  growing  importance  he 
comprehended.  At  that  time  the  doctrine  of 
local  self-government  for  cities  had  but  few  ad- 
vocates, and  the  Legislature  was  relied  upon  to 
govern  them  by  special  enactments  on  every  sub- 
ject affecting  them.  The  city  of  New  York  was 
not  permitted  to  expend  a  dollar  for  any  purpose 
of  municipal  administration  or  improvement 
without  an  act  of  the  Legislature  specially  author- 
izing it.  All  street  railroads  were  authorized 
and  built  by  special  charter,  without  the  con- 
sent of  the  city  or  its  properly  owners.  All 
plans  for  rapid  transit  or,  as  it  was  then  called, 
for  the  relief  of  Broadway,  were  discussed  and 
disposed  of  in  the  Legislature.  It  is  easy  to 
see  that  party  leadership  in  the  Legislature, 
under  these  conditions  and  in  those  times  called 
upon  the  dominant  party,  as  the  responsible 
authority,    for    its    ablest    and    worthiest   friend, 


Scoislatiu c  gro cccdui06. 


and  it  was  abundantly  supplied  in  Judge  Low, 
in  whose  intelligence,  talents,  industry,  tact,  ur- 
banity, patience,  readiness  in  debate,  practical 
business  intuitions,  local  training,  judicial  expe- 
rience, and,  above  all,  his  acknowledged  integrity, 
formed  a  combination  of  qualities  that  com- 
mended him  to  the  confidence,  not  only  of  the 
Senate,  that  he  wielded  in  unchecked  mastery, 
but  the  people  of  the  State  whom  he  delighted 
to  serve  —  a  confidence  that  continued  and 
strengthened  to  the  end  of  the  first  period 
of  his  senatorial  service.  The  second  period  of 
his  service  in  the  Senate  began  after  an  interval 
of  nineteen  years,  commencing  in  1884,  with  the 
terms  of  nearly  a  majority  of  the  present  Senate, 
and  ended  a  few  days  prior  to  the  opening  of 
our  present  session,  while  we  were  fondly 
hoping  that  the  disease  that  pursued  him  to  his 
grave  would  spare  him  to  us  for  counsel  and 
guidance  out  of  his  ripe  experience  and  judg- 
ment, and  for  his  genial  and  instructive  com- 
panionship. No  adequate  estimate  can  be  m,ade 
of  the  usefulness,  worth  and  powers  of  this  re- 
markable man,  unless  the  work  he  accomplished 
during  the  nineteen  years  that  elapsed  between 
his  withdrawal  from  the  Senate  and  his  return 
to  it  be  reckoned  at  value.  I  contemplate  it  now, 
since  his  spirit  has  ascended  to  the  stars,  as  one 

22 


%n  l^cnxoriam. 


might  think  of  an  effulgent  orb  that  has  made 
its  flight  through  space  on  the  circuit  of  its  as- 
signed movement,  and,  having  accomplished  the 
grand  purpose  that  set  it  in  motion  during  the 
time  fixed  for  its  periodicity,  falls  back  to 
the  center  from  which  it  sprung  and  to  which 
it  brings  brighter  dyes  of  light  and  more  genial 
rays  of  heat  gathered  from  the  starry  fields  it 
has  traversed.  Contemplated  from  a  practical 
standpoint,  we,  who  are  proud  of  Judge  Low  and 
his  work,  may  ask  with  confidence,  what  was 
this  work  he  did  ?  Why,  he  went  forth  into  the 
fields,  found  one  blade  of  grass  and  conjured  so 
that  two  grew  there  ;  one  stalk  of  grain  and  ten 
others  came  ;  a  back  lot,  and  it  became  a  garden  ; 
a  tumble -down  farm-house,  and  it  was  trans- 
formed into  a  mansion  ;  a  deserted  village,  and 
it  was  peopled  with  prosperous  denizens  ;  an 
ignorant  rustic,  and  self-worthiness  set  his  soul 
aglow  with  all  the  fires  of  manly  pride  and  am- 
bition ;  forests,  and  they  gave  place  to  fields  of 
grain  ;  streams  lulling  to  the  enchantment  of  echo 
and  solitude,  and  awoke  them  to  the  music  of 
machinery :  cattle  and  other  animals  domesti- 
cated to  the  use  of  man,  but  worthless  as  gold 
hidden  in  a  napkin,  and  they  gave  profit  beyond 
the  exactions  of  usury.  This  is  the  character  of 
the  work  he  was  engaged  in  during  those  nine- 

23 


Jcglslutixjc  J^voccctUngs. 


teen  years.  He  did  it  by  railroad  building.  Not 
as  a  contractor,  who  merely  pursues  the  busi- 
ness for  gain ;  not  as  a  projector,  who  contrives 
a  dazzling  scheme  for  the  profit  of  his  financial 
manipulation,  but  for  the  intrinsic  use  and  value 
of  the  roads  themselves  to  mankind.  He  gloried 
in  the  fruits  of  that  species  of  enterprise.  He 
believed,  with  Lord  Macaulay  that  "of  all  of  the 
inventions,  the  alphabet  and  the  printing  press 
alone  excepted,  those  inventions  which  bridge  dis- 
tance have  done  the  most  for  the  civilization  of 
our  species.  Every  improvement  of  the  means  of 
locomotion  benefits  man  morally  and  intellectu- 
ally, as  well  as  materially."  Inspired  with  this 
motive,  he  was  the  immediate  instrumentality  of 
building  of  over  one  thousand  miles  of  railway 
and  these  he  built  expressly  to  develop  the 
regions  through  which  they  projected,  and  which, 
when  developed,  would  yield  the  richest  harvest 
of  benefits  to  the  public.  He  saw  that  the  Cen- 
tral and  Erie  railways  lay  sixty  to  one  hundred 
miles  apart,  the  former  trending  on  the  northern, 
and  the  latter  on  the  southern,  boundaries  of  our 
State,  and  between  them  there  is  a  fertile  and  de- 
sirable section  without  means  of  communication 
with  the  other  portions  of  the  State.  From  New 
York  to  Lake  Ontario  he  projected  the  Midland 
railroad  and  built  it.    It  is  now  known  by  another 


In  ^cmovuim. 


name  and  proved  a  disastrous  business  adventure 
to  him.  But  it  has  more  than  accomplished  the 
most  sanguine  anticipations  expected  from  it. 
Its  metals  now  form  the  important  connecting 
link  with  Vancouver's  island,  on  the  coast  of  the 
Pacific,  with  Manhattan  island,  in  the  harbor  of 
New  York.  This  work  done,  he  projected  a 
trunk  line  of  road  from  Toledo  to  St.  Louis  and 
chiefly  built  it.  That,  too,  bears  another  name 
than  its  creator  gave  it,  but  it  forms  now  a 
necessary  link  in  the  railway  system  that  con- 
nects Halifax  with  New  Orleans.  Many  other 
railroads  were  projected  and  brought  to  comple- 
tion by  his  indomitable  energy  and  unwearied 
patience.  A  distinguishing  feature  of  his  rail- 
road enterprises  was  the  single  purpose  of  de- 
veloping the  resources  of  the  regions  through 
which  they  were  constructed,  and  that  the  money 
for  their  construction  was  largely  supplied  by 
local  subscriptions  obtained  on  his  personal  solic- 
itation. It  is  bewildering  to  think  of  his  enor- 
mous and  varied  labors  and  of  the  discouragements 
he  must  have  encountered  ;  but  the  roads  were 
built  and  he  entered  upon  the  second  period  of 
his  senatorial  service.  He  returned  to  public  life 
as  he  had  nineteen  years  previously  withdrawn 
from  it,  with  an  experience  and  reputation,  and 
was    at    once    accorded   the    respect    and    confi- 


dence  of  his  colleagues  and  the  people  of  the 
State,  and  with  his  great  abilities  not  only  un- 
impaired but  enriched  with  vast  and  varied  infor- 
mation derived  from  acquaintance,  by  personal 
experience  and  observation,  with  every  pursuit 
and  interest  that  engages  or  concerns  society. 
It  may  be  safely  said  that  no  Senator  ever  sat 
in  the  Senate  who  was  more  adequately  equipped 
for  the  discharge  of  the  duties  of  the  office. 
His  business  enterprises  had  brought  him  into 
contact  with  the  agricultural,  laboring,  financial, 
manufacturing  and  commercial  interests  of  this 
and  many  other  States,  and  with  the  needs  of 
all  localities.  This  was  at  once  recognized  and 
though  he  was  not  accorded  the  nominal  leader- 
ship of  the  Senate  during  his  first  term  by  his 
party,  yet  he  exerted  a  commanding  influence  in 
its  deliberations  on  all  important  questions.  I 
will  not  specify  the  great  measures  he  advocated 
or  opposed  —  many  of  them  are  pending  in  some 
form  or  another,  and  there  may  arise  a  differ- 
ence of  views  respecting  them  at  this  session, 
among  ourselves,  and  it  would  therefore  be  in- 
delicate to  refer  to  his  position  on  them  ;  but  it 
is  entirely  proper  to  say  that  in  him  our  agricul- 
tural interests  have  lost  a  champion  and  friend 
who  defended  them  with  a  vigilance,  intelligence 
•and  power  difficult  to  supply.     The  question  of 


2ei 


%n  ptctnovlam. 


city  transit  for  our  great  inetropolis  has  sore 
need  of  his  guiding  hand.  Corruption  in  the  ad- 
ministration of  municipal  government  may  rejoice 
at  the  loss  of  an  unrelenting  and  dangerous  foe. 
Monopolies  that  oppress  and  extort  from  the 
people,  too,  may  rejoice,  not  that  he  was  a  chronic 
mouser  for  corruption  as  a  suspicious  pessimist 
who  believes  that  villany  is  ever  lurking  in  posi- 
tions of  responsibility  and  power.  That  was  not 
the  character  of  his  noble  mind  and  heart.  He 
was  an  optimist,  a  believer  in  progress,  a  wel- 
comer  of  all  who  brought  to  his  notice  plans  for 
the  comfort,  convenience  and  moral,  material  and 
mental  elevation  of  his  fellowmen.  His  choice 
would  be  to  assuage  a  sorrow  or  promote  a 
measure  of  progress  rather  than  to  cast  stones 
at  those  who  err.  He  believed  that  government 
was  established  to  advance  society  rather  than 
to  frame  Draconian  codes  of  punishment  or  the 
contrivances  of  a  detective  office.  All  those  who 
have  plans  of  public  beneficence  and  private 
charity  and  progressive  ideas,  which  need  the 
vote  and  advocacy  of  a  legislator  greatly  in  sym- 
pathy with  them  in  whatever  form  or  by  whom- 
soever presented,  have  lost  in  him  their  foremost 
champion,  counselor  and  friend.  And,  Mr.  Presi- 
dent and  fellow-senators,  all  of  us  share  in  the 
universal   bereavement    the    loss   of    this    great, 

27 


good,  useful,  wise  and  gentle  colleague,  has 
brought  upon  the  Senate  and  the  people  of  this 
State. 

Senator  Walkek  spoke  as  follows  : 

Mr.  Pkesident  :  With  profound  sorrow  and 
with  true  sincerity,  I  join  in  paying  the  last 
official  tribute  of  respect  and  friendship  to  the 
memory  of  our  friend  and  colleague,  Henky  R. 
Low.  In  paying  this  tribute,  I  have  no  desire  to 
cover  the  dead  with  unmerited  eulogy,  and 
would  not  pronounce  about  a  man  so  sincere  as 
he,  a  word  of  praise  in  which  there  is  the  least 
coloring  of  insincerity.  During  the  eleven  years 
of  which  he  was  a  member  of  this  body,  I  have 
known  him  but  a  little  more  than  three.  In 
these  three  years  of  legislative  life,  associating 
with  him  from  day  to  day,  and  workijig  with 
him  in  the  committee  room,  I  have  been  enabled 
to  form,  what  I  believe  to  be  a  just  estimate  of 
his  character  and  worth. 

And  now,  as  I  turn  my  attention  to  this  life 
so  lately  ended  here  and  begun  above,  the  words 
that  involuntarily  spring  to  my  mind  are  those 
of  Cardinal  Wolsey  in  his  advice  to  Cromwell  — 
"  Be  just  and  fear  not ;  let  all  the  ends  thou 
aim'st  at  be  thy  country's,  thy  God's,  and 
truth's  ;   then  if  thou  fall'st,   0,   Cromwell,  thou 

28 


%n  pXcmovlum. 


fall'st  a  blessed  martyr."  If  we  are  to  judge  by 
results,  no  more  fitting  or  appropriate  words 
could  our  friend  have  taken  as  the  motto  and 
inspiration  of  his  life.  The  principles  of  justice 
and  courage,  though  not  paradoxical,  are  not  often 
as  happily  blended  in  the  same  individual.  In  this 
respect  his  life  was  an  exception  to  the  general 
rule  —  quiet  and  unostentatious  in  manner,  always 
courteous  in  bearing  and  respectful  of  the  opinions 
of  others  —  he  at  the  same  time  had  clear  and  well- 
defined  opinions  of  his  own,  and  his  convictions 
often  blazed  forth  in  such  a  manner  as  to  command 
the  respect  and  admiration  of  even  his  opponents. 
As  a  legislator  he  was  remarkably  intelli- 
gent, tireless  in  industry,  and  generously  just, 
always  laboring  to  promote  that  legislation  which 
would  conduce  to  the  prosperity  of  the  State  at 
large,  and  the  peace,  comfort  and  well-being  of 
all  classes  and  conditions  of  men.  Without 
speaking  disparagingly,  by  way  of  contrast,  of 
the  motives  or  ability  of  other  members  of  our 
honorable  body,  I  think  I  may  say,  without  fear 
of  contradiction,  that  he  was  preeminently  the 
friend  of  the  agriculturists  and  farmers  of  the 
State.  It  was  this  trait,  as  I  observed  it  in  his 
character,  which  first  called  forth  my  respect 
and  admiration.  When  we  consider  the  large 
number  of    this   class    scattered    throughout   the 


length  and  breadth  of  our  State,  their  general  in- 
telligence, their  diversified  interests,  the  modesty 
of  their  demands,  and  the  want  of  organization 
through  which  their  influence  is  felt,  when  we 
consider  all  this,  it  is  an  honor  worthy  the  highest 
ambition  to  be  regarded  by  them  as  their  ac- 
knowledged leader,  champion  and  friend. 

"In  halls  of  State  be  stood  for  many  years. 
Like   fabled   knigbt,   bis   visage  all   aglow, 
Receiving,  giving  sternly,  blow  for  blow  ; 
Champion  of   right." 

As  a  faithful,  industrious  and  painstaking  leg- 
islator. Senator  Low  was  an  example  well  worthy 
of  our  imitation.  During  a  part  of  the  last 
session  while  he  was  with  us,  whether  walking 
quietly  about  the  Senate  chamber,  or  sitting  in 
his  seat,  we  have  observed  the  frail  hold  which 
he  appeared  to  have  upon  life,  and  feared  that 
in  addition  to  the  burden  of  years,  he  was 
bearing  the  heavier  burden  of  disease.  In  all 
this  he  was  faithful  in  the  discharge  of  all  his 
duties,  and  had  a  pleasant  smile  and  a  kind 
word  for  all  who  in  anyway  were  associated 
with  him. 

As  a  gentleman  and  man  of  business  he  was 

honored  and  respected   wherever  he  was  known. 

For    truth,  integrity    and    honor    marked    all   his 

dealings.    In  this  the  Senate  of  the  State  of  New 

ao 


%n  ^cmoxmm. 


York  he  was  the  recipient  of  the  highest  honor 
it  is  in  our  power  to  bestow,  that  of  President 
pro  tempore.  In  his  home,  where  he  was  identified 
with  so  many  business  enterprises  and  projects 
that  tend  to  the  growth  and  prosperity  of  his 
city,  he  was  alike  the  kind  friend  and  the  dis- 
tinguished citizen,  and  when  the  last  day  came, 
and  the  places  there  of  responsibility  and  trust, 
which  had  known  him  so  long  were  to  know 
him  no  more  forever,  as  an  evidence  of  the  high 
regard  in  which  he  was  held,  all  places  of  busi- 
ness were  closed  as  he  was  carried  to  the 
church,  where  the  old  and  the  young,  the  rich 
and  the  poor  assembled  to  pay  their  last  tribute 
of  respect,  before  he  was  laid  away  in  his  last 
resting-place. 

His  life,  which  was  gentle  and  patient,  full  of 
work  and  crowned  with  success,  is  ended  and 
he  has  gone  to  his  reward. 

The  year  1888,  so  lately  closed,  has  been  an 
eventful  one  m  the  annals  of  our  State  and 
nation.  Many  of  the  noblest  and  best  have  fallen 
like  the  leaves  of  autumn  to  the  earth,  and  by 
their  influence,  example  and  achievements,  enrich 
it  and  make  it  better  for  coming  generations.  A 
remnant  of  life,  be  it  long  or  short,  still  remains 
to  each  of  us.  It  may  not  be  possible  for  us  to 
move  in  the  exalted  orbits  of  many  of  those  who 

81 


gcglslatixjc  gvocccdtngs. 


have  preceded  us,  or  even  to  reflect  the  luster  of 
their  brilliant  achievements,  but  it  is  possible  for 
each  of  us  to  move  grandly  true  in  his  own 
orbit ;  to  be  the  conscious  possessor  of  a  noble 
nature,  and  by  diligent  adherence  to  principle 
and  duty  be  numbered  among  those  who  are 
faithful  in  that  which  is  least. 

Mr.  President,  as  we  are  assembled  at  this 
time  in  respectful  recognition  of  the  worth  and 
services  of  our  departed  colleague,  I  desire  to 
add,  to  the  eloquent  and  befitting  testimonials 
that  are  here  presented,  this  simple  but  sincere 
tribute  to  the  memory  of  my  friend. 

Senator  Langbein  spoke  as  follows : 

Mr.  Peesident  :   I  arise  from    my    chair  with 

melancholy  pleasure  to  give  my  humble  tribute 
to  the  memory  of  our  departed  statesman. 

He  was  an  able  politician.  I  do  not  mean 
he  was  a  politician  in  the  ordinary  acceptation 
of  that  word,  but  in  its  higher  and  true  mean- 
ing. What  is  politics  ?  It  is  the  science  of 
government.  By  science  is  meant  a  system  of 
a  branch  of  knowledge  comprehending  its 
doctrine,  reason  and  theory.  What  is  govern- 
ment? It  is  the  exercise  of  authority,  or 
direction,  and  restraint  exercised  over  the 
actions    of     men.      Science    of    government    sig- 

82 


%n  ptcmovUvm. 


nifies  that  form  of  fundamental  rules  by 
which  a  nation  or  State  is  governed,  or  by 
which  the  members  of  a  body  politic  are  to 
regulate  their  social  actions.  It  means  the 
administration  of  public  affairs  according  to  es- 
tablished constitutions,  laws  and  usages.  In 
this  sense  the  deceased  Senator  was  an  able 
politician. 

He  was  a  statesman,  for  he  was  a  man  versed 
in  the  arts  of  government  ;  especially  was  he  a 
man  eminent  for  political  abilities. 

Besides  all  this,  he  was  a  very  experienced 
legislator.  He  served  as  a  Senator  in  the  Senate 
of  this  State  during  our  late  civil  war,  in  the 
years  1862,  1863,  1865,  1866  and  1867.  From  the 
year  1867  to  the  year  1884  he  was  not  a  Senator, 
but  in  the  year  1884  he  reappeared  in  the 
Senate  Chamber  of  our  State,  representing 
the  Thirteenth  Senate  District  until  the  day  of 
his  death. 

He  was  a  fearless  investigator.  I  remember 
the  time,  now  about  three  years  ago,  in 
the  year  1886,  when,  as  chairman  of  the  Senate 
Railroad  Committee,  he  was  engaged  in  the 
city  of  New  York  investigating  the  Broadway 
Railway  scandal.  He  was  tireless  and  fear- 
less in  that  investigation,  and  it  was  mainly 
due    to  him,   assisted   by   the   invaluable   aid    of 

38 


that  learned  and  accomplished  departed  Repub- 
lican statesman,  Roscoe  Conkling,  that  one  of 
the  most  stupendous  frauds  of  our  age  was 
unearthed,  and  many  of  the  perpetrators  were 
punished. 

During  all  these  years  of  his  political  career 
he  was  free  from  even  a  taint  of  suspicion  of 
collusion  or  corruption. 

In  the  last  year  of  his  life  he  must  have 
suffered  greatly.  Several  times  I  have  seen  his 
sad  face,  as  he  sat  in  his  chair,  with  his  head 
bowed  down,  pained  with  physical  disability, 
and  anxious  about  the  welfare  of  our  State, 
which  he  loved  so  well. 

He  was  true  to  the  people ;  he  was  true 
to   his    party. 

It  is  by  no  means  a  fact  that  death  is  the 
worst  of  all  evils ;  when  it  comes  it  is  an 
alleviation  to  mortals  who  are  worn  out  with 
sufferings. 

We    may  say    of    our  deceased  friend : 

"  Though   old,   he    still   retain'd 
His  manly  sense   and   energy   of  mind. 
Virtuous   and   wise   he   was,   but   not  severe  ; 
He   still    remembered   that   he   once   was   young  : 
His   easy  presence  check'd   no   decent  joy. 
Him   even   the    dissolute   admir'd  ;  for   he 
A   graceful   looseness   when   he   pleased  put  on, 
And  laughing  could  instruct." 


84 


He  was  kindness  itself.  A  more  genial,  kindly 
nature  for  an  old  gentleman  I  never  knew,  and 
it  was  as  unostentatious  as  it  was  kind.  Who- 
ever knew  him,  he  must  be  long  remem- 
bered by 

"  That  best  portion  of  a  good  man's  life, 
His   little   nameless,   unrecorded   acts 
Of   kindness   and   of    love." 

Senator  Coggeshall  spoke  as  follows  : 

Mr.  President  :  It  was  my  privilege  to  enjoy 
the  ac<iuaintance  and  friendship  of  Senator  Low. 
I  admired  him  living  and  mourn  him  dead.  With 
chastened  heart,  and  tender,  reverent  memory, 
I  offer  my  humble  tribute  to  his  greatness  and 
worth. 

We  turn  instinctively  to-day  to  the  vacant 
seat  he  occupied;  we  recall  the  benevolent  face, 
the  kind  manner,  the  uniform  courtesy,  which 
were  always  his.  We  can  not  realize  that  this 
familiar  presence  is  forever  gone  from  our 
midst;  that  we  may  never  again  meet  and  greet 
him. 

But  the  unoccupied  chair,  the  unanswered  roll- 
(;all,  his  continued  absence,  confirms  the  sad 
intelligence  that  he  is  dead.  He  has  gone  to  a 
rich  and  ripe  reward,  where  loftiness  of  soul 
and  honesty  of  intention  are  most  fully 
appreciated. 

33 


i 


i^ccjlsUttuic  J^^occctUncjs. 


His  was  an  accomplished  life.  A  life  devoted 
to  usefulness,  rewarded  by  success  and  crowned 
with  honor.  We  may  grieve  at  his  "taking  off," 
but  we  are  not  permitted  to  complain.  To  com- 
plain at  the  close  of  such  a  life  is  to  complain 
that  the  ripened  fruit  drops  from  the  overloaded 
bough,  that  the  golden  harvest  bends  to  the  sickle, 
that  the  purple  twilight  succeeds  the  perfect  day. 
For  such  a  life  Eloquence  shall  lift  her  impassioned 
voice  and  Poetry  shall  sing  her  sweetest  lays. 

For  such  a  man  praise,  honor,  imitation;  but 
not  tears!  Tears  for  him  who  has  failed;  tears 
for  him  who,  wearied  with  the  march  of  life, 
"by  the  wayside  fell  and  perished;"  not  for 
him  who  finished  the  journey. 

We  lament,  therefore,  in  no  complaining  spirit 
for  Henky  R.  Low.  With  our  regret  that  he 
has  died  is  mingled  our  thankfulness  that  he 
has  lived.  The  city  in  which  he  dwelt  so  long, 
and  in  whose  prosperity  and  development  he  was 
so  deeply  interested,  the  district  and  the  State 
that  he  served  so  faithfully  and  so  well,  may 
appropriately  inscribe  his  name  on  the  roll  of 
their  honored  dead. 

The  Senate,  which  he  informed  with  wise 
counsels,  which  he  adorned  with  dignity  of  man- 
ner and  purity  of  life,  bears  equal  testimony  to 
his  abilities  and  to  his  integrity. 

36 


%n  gXcniovium. 


We  honor  his  memory.  We  appreciate  his 
services.    We  deplore  our  loss. 

Of  him  it  may  truthfully  be  said:  "They  who 
knew  him  best  loved  him  most." 

He  had  a  genial,  sunny  disposition;  a  warm, 
sympathetic  heart;  and  "he  wore  the  radiance 
of  his  soul  in  his  face."  In  social  life  he  was 
always  the  same  open-handed,  large-hearted,  gen- 
erous, pleasant  friend;  treating  all  who  came 
within  the  circle  of  his  influence,  rich  or  poor, 
exalted  or  lowly,  with  the  same  rare,  exquisite 
courtesy.  Contact  with  the  world,  its  jostlings 
and  collisions,  had  no  effect  to  mar  ihe  sim- 
plicity of  his  character  or  cool  the  warmth  of 
his  heart.  That  retained  a  freshness  almost 
boyish.  Though  advanced  years  and  feebleness 
of  health  invited  him  to  repose,  though  he  had 
climbed  the  rugged  pathway  of  life  far  up  the 
Alpine  heights,  so  that  the  glistening  peak  was 
near  at  hand  and  winter's  snow  all  around  him, 
he  looked  down  upon  the  valleys  below,  glow- 
ing with  tropical  gorgeousness,  and  sympathized 
with  the  joyousness  of  earth's  youth,  the  laugh- 
ter of  children,  the  music  of  birds,  the  joy  and 
hope  and  universal  gladness,  without  envy 
or  sigh  that  he  could  not  descend,  but  must 
hold  on  his  way  until  the  bleak  summit  was 
reached. 

37 


|^C0i6littiVJC  ^H^OCCCtUUQS. 


He  could  well  have  claimed  that  he  had  done  his 
full  share  of  public  duty,  but  the  habits  of  a  life  of 
active  usefulness  would  not  permit  him  to  do  this. 

From  the  early  morning  of  life,  all  through 
its  meridian  and  afternoon,  he  had  been  a 
faithful  worker.  Industry  and  energy,  hope- 
fulness and  enthusiasm,  were  his  essential 
characteristics. 

Though  naturally  frail  in  body  he  was  vigorous 
and  persistent  in  both  physical  and  mental 
action,  and  his  life  and  achievements  attest  the 
possibilities  and  opportunities  which  cluster 
about  American  citizenship. 

He  was  an  earnest  and  successful  student  of 
books,  of  men  and  affairs. 

He  developed  a  fair  fortune  for  himself,  and 
he  gave  most  liberally  of  his  possessions,  his 
strength,  his  abilities  and  his  time  to  the  improve- 
ment of  his  fellow-men,  to  the  growth  and 
prosperity  of  the  community,  and  to  the  stability 
and  perpetuity  of  the  State. 

Having  acquired  a  fortune,  he  suffered,  as  many 
do  in  these  changing  times,  a  loss  of  his  estate. 
But  he  was  undaunted  in  the  face  of  disastrous 
failure;  and  with  that  cheerful  courage  which 
characterized  him  he  launched  into  new  enter- 
prises and  speedily  regained  the  financial 
resources   for  usefulness  which  had   been  swept 


In  Ulcmoviam. 


away.  In  the  hour  of  failure  he  was  neither 
dismayed  nor  cast  down,  and  in  the  hour 
of  financial  success  he  exhibited  no  unreason- 
able pride.  His  desire  to  acquire  wealth  was 
coupled  with  a  still  stronger  desire  to  use  his 
acquisitions  for  the  benefit  of  those  around 
him. 

Senator  Low  was  not  only  a  kind  friend  and 
an  enterprising,  public- spirited  citizen,  but  he 
was  also  an  able  representative. 

Called  repeatedly  to  positions  of  public  trust 
and  responsibility,  he  faithfully  discharged  every 
known  obligation. 

His  legislative  career  was  marked  by  the  most 
conscientious  discharge  of  duty,  by  the  most 
patient  attention  to  every  detail  of  legislation, 
and  by  the  advocacy  of  laws  for  the  promotion 
and  protection  of  the  great  agricultural  interests 
of  the  State.  He  was  an  earnest,  faithful, 
devoted  champion  of  the  people's  rights.  The 
sincerity  of  his  devotion  to  duty  was  the  charm 
of  his  success.  He  was  prudent,  sagacious, 
laborious,  wise.  He  was  a  brave,  cautious,  vigi- 
lant pilot,  never  departing  from  his  chart  or 
neglecting  his  compass. 

He  was  a  sentinel  who  never  left  the  post  of 
duty.  His  positions  were  thoughtfully  taken, 
securely     fortified     and     persistently     defended. 

39 


ScgisUttiuc  J%*occc(Uucjs. 


What  he  said  he  considered  well,  and  he  had 
that  rare  wisdom  which  is  born  of  steady  judg- 
ment, mature  experience,  intelligent  conscience 
and  generous  impulse.  There  was  with  him 
always  a  wise  and  a  considerate  propriety  of 
conduct,  a  love  of  truth,  an  unaffected  modesty, 
a  benevolent  and  kindly  charity,  which  was 
both  a  principle  and  rule  of  his  life. 

Earnest  in  the  discharge  of  his  duties  he  was 
never  obtrusive,  never  presumptuous  nor  impul- 
sive, and  he  never  said  a  word  calculated  to 
inflict  a  wound  or  injure  the  feelings  of  the 
most  sensitive. 

Uncomplainingly  he  bore  the  burden  of  disease. 
The  condition  of  physical  health  in  which  he 
performed  his  duties  here  saddened  us  all;  yet 
complaint  never  escaped  his  lips,  and  he  would 
force  his  weak  body  to  its  work  with  a  vigor 
and  courage  that  it  is  not  extravagant  to  call 
heroic. 

As  I  think  of  him  thus  resolutely  and  cheer- 
fully struggling  against  the  infirmities  with  which 
he  contended,  as  I  remember  his  simple,  unosten- 
tatious life,  the  words  of  the  poet  seem  as 
though  dedicated  to  him,  and  as  if  expressive 
of  his  thoughts  had  he  but  uttered  them: 

"I  am  weary  of  my  burden 
And  fain  would  rest." 

40 


%n  U^cnxoviiim. 


Every  leaf  upon  life's  shore  lines 

Is  a  gem  ; 
Not  a  withered  one  is  drooping, 
"While  the  hand  of  love  is  looping 
And  into  garlands  grouping 

All  of  them. 

Not  a  storm  cloud  gathers 

On  the  air  ; 
Only  summer  clouds  are  drifting, 
And  the  summer  breezes  sifting, 
And  sweetest  perfumes  lifting 

From  gardens  fair. 

Only  music  soft  and  melting 

Soothes  the  soul ; 
And  its  billows  mild  and  wooing, 
With   a  gentle  hand   undoing 
All  the  cares  that  were  bestrewing 

Each  earthly    goal. 

I  will   take  my  burden  for  a  pillow 

And  lie  down   to  rest ; 
God's  love  shall  dwell  beside  me. 
And  no  clouds  shall  ever  hide  me 
From  the  loving  ones  that  guide  me 

To  the  portals  of  the  blest. 

The  duties  of  the  dead  Senator  are 
ended ;  with  him  the  great  account  is  closed. 
Even  this  solemn  hour,  with  his  name  on 
every  lip,  is  nothing  to  him.  His  silent,  inani- 
mate form  is  alike  indiiferent  to  censure  or  to 
praise. 

41 


^C0i6liitixic  grocccxUngs. 


But  to  us,  the  living,  this  occasion  is  freighted 
with  interest  and  admonition. 

Treasuring  in  our  hearts  his  memory,  ex- 
emplifying in  our  lives  his  virtues,  may  we 
remember, 

"As  each  goes  up  from  the  field  of  earth, 

Bearing  the  treasures  of  life, 
God  looks  for  some  gathered  grain  of  good, 
From  the  ripe  harvest  that  shining  stood 

But  waiting  the  reaper's  knife. 

"Then  labor  well,  that  in  death  you  go 
Not  only  with  blossoms  sweet; 
Not  bent  with  doubt  and  burdened  with  fears 
And  dead,  dry  husks  of  the  wasted  years, 
But  laden  with  golden  wheat." 

Senator  McNaughton  spoke  as  follows  : 

Mr.  Peesident  :  The  fact  that  my  personal 
acquaintance  with  the  deceased  Senator  —  at  his 
death  President  pro  tempore  of  the  Senate — began 
less  than  one  year  before  his  death,  will  justify 
me  in  not  indulging  in  extended  remarks  on  his 
life,  character  and  public  services,  certainly,  in  not 
attempting  a  formal  eulogy.  Yet  for  many  years 
I  knew  much  of  the  character  and  value  of  the 
services  rendered  his  constituency  and  the  State 
by  Senator  Low ;  heard  him  spoken  of  as  a  ripe 
scholar,  a  man  of  affairs,  forcible  and  potent 
in   deliberations    touching  the  political  questions 

42 


t 


put  in  issue  by  his  party,  an  upright  judge,  a  dis- 
tinguished and  influential  member  of  the  Legis- 
lature, and  that  his  name,  by  his  party  friends, 
was  frequently  mentioned  in  connection  with  the 
highest  office  in  the   gift  of   the  people  of    this 

State. 

When,  at     the     beginning    of     the    previous 
session    of    this    Senate,  it   was    my  privilege  to 
meet   him  personally,  I  found    that   not  a  word 
too  much  had  been  said  in  his  praise  ;    that  he 
possessed    in    a   marked    degree    those    traits    of 
mind  and   character  which  always  win  and  com- 
mand respect  and  admiration.     He  was  a  stead- 
fast friend  ;  his  heart  beat  for  humanity  regardless 
of   station  or    race,    whether    clothed  in  rags  or 
in  silken  vesture.    He  was  the  earnest,  true,  un- 
yielding  friend  of    the    wage-earner ;    his    voice, 
his  influence  were  ever  potent  in  behalf  of  those 
who  earn  their  bread  by  the  sweat  of  their  brow. 
In  this  chamber  he  strove  not  for  the  ideal,  but 
for  legislation  that  would  prove  a  substantial  ad- 
vantage and  of  practical  value  and  utility.    He  be- 
lieved in    the  dignity,  the  usefulness  of   mechan- 
ical and  agricultural  pursuits,  and  that  agriculture 
was  the  foundation  of  the  wealth  of  a  nation,  the 
basis  of   enduring  prosperity  to  the  people. 

While  Judge  Low  was  a  strong,  zealous,  but 
not  bitter  partisan,  yielding  no  point  of  advantage 


43 


to  his  own  party,  for  a  political  opponent,  by 
reason  of  personal  friendship  or  business,  or 
social  relations  —  he  was  honorable  to  his  poli- 
tical adversaries,  his  contention  for  his  party 
was  always  on  principle  —  he  availed  himself 
of  no  trick,  device  or  subterfuge,  or  an 
unmanly  advantage.  It  has,  therefore,  been  well, 
appropriately  and  truly  said,  his  death  is  a  public 
loss  ;  one  that  will  be  felt  and  deplored  by  the 
citizens  of  our  State.  In  the  pathetic  words  of 
another,  "his  death  is  a  recent  sorrow;  his 
image  still  lives  in  eyes  that  weep  for  him." 

The  time  of  his  death,  with  reference  to  the 
season  of  the  year,  his  mental  condition,  public 
position  and  achievements,  is  suggestive.  He  had 
passed  the  hopes  of  spring,  the  promises  and 
pledges  of  summer,  had  heard  the  chant  of  the  har- 
vesters bringing  their  sheaves  with  them ;  had  seen 
the  grapes  purpling  and  rich  on  the  vine,  and  the 
ripened  fruit  bending  the  boughs ;  all  this  he  had 
looked  upon  with  kindly  and  gladdened  eyes,  and 
winter  had  not  locked  the  streams  nor  made 
barren  and  bleak  the  face  of  nature,  when  he 
passed  away.  So  his  life.  The  promise  of  his 
youth  had  been  fulfilled,  he  had  borne  his  share, 
aye,  more  than  his  share  of  toil  and  struggle  in 
the  summer  heat  of  life's  battle,  his  well- 
directed    efforts    had    yielded    fruit     and     good, 

44 


proved  a  blessing  and  an  aid  to  humanity,  notably 
to  the  poor,  the  struggling  and  the  down-trodden, 
and  before  the  chill  blasts  of  regret  or  disappoint- 
ment had  come,  or  biting  winds  of  adversity  had 
touched   or   chilled    him,    before  malice  or  envy 
had  endeavored  to  harm,  in  the  full  vigor  of  a  ripe 
and  cultured  intellect,  in  the  possession  of  every 
faculty,  "  he  has  gone  over  to  the  majority  ;  has 
joined  the  famous  nations  of  the  dead,"  quietly, 
peacefully,  gently,  calmly— "death  seeming  rather 
to    have    been    given    to    him    than    life     taken 
away."     Not  a  word  said  in  praise  of   his  char- 
acter, his  integrity,  his  fidelity  to  truth  and  jus- 
tice, by    the  orator  or   the  press  but  was    well- 
merited  ;  no  eulogy  can  exaggerate  his  worth,  his 
struggles    to    enforce  what   he  deemed  the  right, 
and  his  private  life  was  as  pure  and  spotless  as 
the  snow  which  lies  on  his  grave  to-night.    The 
good  he  accomplished,  is  the  "eloquent  oration  of 
this  hour."    Perhaps  I  ought  not  to  have  occupied 
any  time  on  this  occasion  when  so  many  Senators 
around    this  circle,  from    long    and    intimate    ac- 
quaintance   with     Senator     Low,    are     so     well 
equipped    to    speak    of    him,  but  I  should    have 
done  injustice  to  the  promptings  of   my  heart,  if 
I  had  not    risen  in  my  place  and   uttered  these 
words,  testifying  the  love;  the  regard  and  respect 
which  I  entertained  for  our  deceased  friend. 


43 


L^cgislutluc  ^^voccctlincis. 


Senator  Aknold  spoke  follows  : 

Mr.  President:  I  did  not  know  Senator  Low  as 
long  or  as  well  as  many  Senators  who  have  already- 
spoken  so  eloquently  and  truthfully  in  his  honor, 
but  I  knew  him  long  enough  and  well  enough  to 
have  recognized  and  admired  in  him  many  great 
and  gracious  qualities  wiht  which  he  was  so  gener- 
ously endowed.  In  many  respects  Senator  Low 
always  appeared  to  me  to  be  a  great  man.  In  no 
respect  did  he  ever  appear  to  be  an  ordinary 
man.  He  had  all  the  characteristics  more  or  less 
developed,  which  men  attribute  to  those  who  are 
called  the  great  of  the  earth.  He  had  industry, 
upon  which  greatness  in  these  days  only  is  built. 
He  had  thoughtfulness.  He  was  full  of  that  in- 
tellectual digestion  out  of  which  temperate  and 
far-seeing  statesmanship  grows.  He  was  brave ; 
he  was  honest ;  he  was  generous  and  kindly  dis- 
posed, and  forgiving  to  his  enemies,  and  above 
all,  Mr.  President,  he  seemed  to  be  gifted  with 
that  remarkable  cjuality  which  all  great  men 
possess  —  the  ciuality  of  faith  —  not  that  which 
is  said  to  stir  the  hills  on  their  bases,  but  that 
which  is  akin  to  it,  faith  in  the  dignity  and  the 
fidelity,  and  the  truthfulness  of  his  kind.  In  a 
word,  he  appeared  always  to  be  the  most  credu- 
lous of  men.  Whoever  had  his  confidence  had  it 
all ;  and  this  gift,  shining  out  as  it  did  among  his 

46 


great  talents,  seemed  to  be  one  of  the  most 
charming  qualities  of  this  remarkable  man.  He 
was  an  old  man  ;  or  at  least  he  was  approach- 
ing rapidly  that  period  which,  by  common  con- 
sent, is  fixed  as  the  limit  of  human  life.  He 
had  seen  illustrated  many  times  in  his  own  expe- 
rience the  truth  of  the  homely  line  — 

"  False   are   the   men   of    liigh   degree." 

He  knew  how  fickle  and  changeable  public 
sentiment  is,  even  in  the  best  informed  com- 
munities. And  yet  this  man,  with  faith  sublime, 
would  trust  in  the  honor  and  fidelity  of  human 
nature,  and  he  trusted  it  because  he  lived  in  and 
breathed  that  atmosphere. 

There  was  another  charming  quality  which 
Senator  Low  seemed  to  possess  to  a  remark- 
able degree,  and  that  was,  he  always  seemed  to 
be  a  young  man.  He  had  a  body  tortured  by 
pain  and  tried  by  disease.  He  had  seen  mis- 
fortunes ;  he  was,  indeed,  like  one  of  old,  "ac- 
quainted with  grief ; "  and  yet  time  had  not 
embittered  his  temper  nor  had  sorrow  soured  his 
disposition.  He  seemed  to  have  caught  in  early 
youth  of  the  color  of  the  morning  "incense 
breathing  morn,"  and  to  have  brought  him  the 
graces  of  early  life,  emblems  of  beauty  and 
hope  which  adorn  early  manhood,  and  he  seemed 
to   have  set   them   on  the   declining  slope  of  old 

47 


IJcoislatiuc  gvoccctUugs. 


age  that  they  might  light  his  pathway  to  the 
tomb. 

Mr.  President,  if  there  is  any  test,  I  do  not 
know  of  any  that  is  more  accurate  than  this,  by 
which  we  may  judge  of  the  success  of  any  man's 
life  ;  it  is,  how  much  of  the  purity,  the  sim- 
plicity, the  tenderness  and  generosity  of  early 
youth,  he  brings  with  him  into  old  age.  He  who 
succeeds  in  this,  as  did  Senator  Low,  has  indeed 
discovered  what  that  adventurous  Spaniard 
searched  for  in  vain,  the  fountain  of  perpetual 
youth. 

I  must  criticize,  Mr.  President,  one  word  used 
by  one  Senator  in  these  charming  services  ;  it  is 
the  word  "late"  as  applied  to  our  departed 
friend.  My  faith  teaches  me  that  the  friendship 
that  he  inspired  is  quick  with  life  eternal.  That 
when  the  stars  above  us  grow  pale  with  age,  "and 
are  to  dumb  forge tfulness  a  prey,"  the  thought 
that  binds  my  friend  and  me,  will  still  shine  in 
the  firmament  of   God's  beatitudes  forever. 

Mr.  President,  whoever  has  thoughtfully  ob- 
served these  services  will  have  noticed  a  golden 
thread  running  through  every  discourse.  The 
Senator  from  the  twenty -first  (Sloan)  put  his 
own  just  and  accurate  estimate  upon  the  char- 
acter of  our  distinguished  friend  ;  but  he  spoke 
too  of  his  firm  and  steadfast  friendship  ;  and  the 

48 


Ju  g^tcmovianu 


Senator  from  the  Second  (Pierce)  so  tenderly  — 
true  to  his  nature — set  forth  his  charming  quali- 
ties, his  abilities  and  his  patriotic  fidelity ;  and 
yet  to  his  pure,  firm  and  enduring  friendship  he 
gave  the  highest  meed  of  praise ;  and  so  it  went 
through  every  speech.  Friendship  is  the  golden 
thread,  it  seems,  on  which  we  all  unite  and 
which  joins  us  to  the  man  departed. 

I  am  reminded  by  this,  Mr.  President,  of  a 
fable  designed  to  illustrate  the  eternity  and 
nobility  of  friendship.  The  noblest  sentiment 
and  the  purest  that  grows  out  of  human  ac- 
quaintance is  friendship.  Like  a  plant  of  noble 
origin  it  grows  only  to  perfection  in  noble  and 
generous  natures;  it  is  constant  in  every  vicissi- 
tude of  fortune,  and,  as  we  see  so  happily  illus- 
trated here,  it  survives  the  shock  of  that  fatal 
hour  when  we  bid  adieu  to  earth.  The  fable 
ran  this  way  :  It  was  the  story  of  five  friends 
who  took  a  journey  together,  a  long  and  peril- 
ous journey  into  a  distant  and  unknown  land. 
Each  was  gifted  with  tastes  and  qualities  pe- 
culiar to  himself,  and  yet  they  pursued  every 
enterprise  ;  they  endured  every  privation ;  they 
enjoyed  every  success  as  men  of  one  mind  ;  and 
in  the  very  hour  of  danger  and  in  the  forefront 
of  battle  the  noblest  and  the  bravest  of  them 
all  came  to  his  journey's  end  ;   and  they  buried 

48 


gcgisUttluc  groccctUngs. 


him  there  in  the  wilderness.  As  his  friends  sat 
around  at  night,  as  was  the  custom  of  their 
country,  speaking  of  his  great  and  noble  nature, 
each  attributed  to  him  different  qualities  —  quali- 
ties predominant  in  the  nature  of  each,  as  the 
taste  of  each  was  different  from  the  others.  Yet 
they  all  agreed  on  one  thing,  that  he  was  the 
purest  and  most  faithful  of  friends.  That  in  that 
great  household  he  was  the  noblest  and  eldest- 
born.  There  was  thus  one  thing  upon  which 
they  could  all  unite,  and  standing  around  his 
grave,  as  we  do  here  to-night,  moved  by  a 
common   impulse,  they   uttered    this    sentiment : 

"Long  liA'e  friendship  ;   may  the  spot  be  ever  green 
where  it  commenced, 
And  the  place  ever  bloom  where  it  grew, 
And  when  all  its  bloom  is  over 
And  its  leaves  are  withered  and  fallen 
May  friendship  still  continue." 

In  a  certain  sense,  we  stand  around  the  grave 
of  this  distinguished  man  to-night.  His  life  and 
his  death  have  lessons  of  instruction  and  wisdom 
for  us  all.  There  is  not  in  the  material  universe 
of  God,  the  humblest  living  thing  that  does  not 
teach  how  vain  that  human  life  must  be  whose 
ambition  ends  with  this  existence.  Senator  Low 
died  full  of  honors,  and  yet  he  was  not  satisfied  ; 
he  was  a  disappointed  man.     In  the  last  year  of 

80 


his  life  ambition  ruled  every  hour.  Never  did 
the  phantom  of  hope  lure  him  on  and  encourage 
his  tottering  footsteps  to  still  higher  places  upon 
the  earth  more  than  in  that  last  year  ;  and  so 
it  continued  until  "life's  thread,  worn  fine  as 
web  of  gossamer,  at  last  gave  way,  and  he  to 
the  elements  resigned  the  principles  of  life  they 

lent  him." 

If  it  were  given  to  the  dead  to  contemplate 
and  if  we  were  permitted  to  hear  from  that  dis- 
tant shore  the  old  familiar  voice,  in  tones  of 
tender  admonition,  how  impressive  would  its 
lessons  be  to  every  ambitious  man  around  this 
circle.  And  yet  the  life  and  death  of  our  friend 
teaches  us  ks  though  one  rose  from  the  dead : 
"What  shadows  we  are  and  what  shadows  we  pursue." 

Senator  Bobertson  spoke  as  follows  : 

Mr.  President:  The  chair  by  my  side  has 
been  made  vacant  by  death.  The  Senator  that 
filled  it  has  passed  away,  and  is  now,  1  trust,  in 
the  full  enjoyment  of  that  life  which  a  right  life 
here  insures. 

Henry  R.  Low  was  bo^n  in  Sullivan  county, 
in  this  State,  in  1826.  He  ckme  of  a  family  some- 
what distinguished  and  quite  patriotic.  One  an- 
cestor represented  that  county  in  the  other 
branch  of   the    Legislature.      Two  others   served 


SI 


^C0lsUituic  gvoccctUugs. 


in  the  American  army  during  the  revolution.  He 
himself  started  out  in  life  as  a  common  school 
teacher,  the  starting  point  of  a  large  number  of 
the  great  men  of  this  nation.  In  due  time  he 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  and  won  a  few  laurels 
in  his  profession.  Twice  he  was  elected  judge 
of  his  native  county.  At  length  he  became  a 
member  of  the  State  Senate.  This  would  have 
been  his  twelfth  year  of  service  in  this  body. 
Here  he  labored  to  protect  all  the  great  interests 
of  the  State.  He  was  the  champion  of  the 
farmer  and  of  the  laborer.  Here  he  sought  to 
relieve  real  estate  of  its  heavy  and  unjust 
burdens  of  taxation.  He  wanted  the  laborer  to 
receive  for  his  labor  such  compensation  as  would 
enalbe  him  to  educate  his  children,  support  his 
family  and  make  accessible  to  them  the  comforts 
and  enjoyments  of  life.  This  alone  will  account 
for  his  immense  popularity  in  the  Orange  dis- 
trict. He  often  took  part  in  debate  here ;  he 
was  a  fluent  speaker  ;  he  stated  his  facts  with 
great  clearness  and  force  and  built  on  them  strong 
and  convincing  arguments.  It  is  a  remarkable 
fact  that  he  seldom  or  never  excited  the  envy 
or  jealousy  of  his  political  associates  ;  that  he 
seldom  or  never  aroused  the  wrath  of  his  polit- 
ical opponents.  He  possessed  much  more  ability 
than   the    average   law-maker ;    but  his   was  not 

82 


a  towering  intellect.  Had  he  been  a  great  genius 
he  would  have  been  less  useful  to  his  constitu- 
ents, less  useful  to  the  people  of  the  State.  He 
was  noted  for  amiability,  for  gentleness  and  purity 
of  character,  for  fidelity  to  the  interests  in- 
trusted to  his  care,  for  devotion  to  friends,  and 
for  courteous  treatment  of  all  with  whom  he 
came  in  contact.  He  had  a  laudable  ambition, 
and  had  he  lived  higher  honors  would  undoubt- 
edly been  conferred  upon  him. 

May  we  so  live,  may  Providence  so  guide 
us,  that  when  we  shall  be  called  from  earth  our 
regrets  will  be  as  few,  our  prospects  as  bright  as 
those  of  our  departed  associate,  whose  virtues 
we  this  night  commemorate. 

Senator  Cantor  spoke  as  follows  : 

Mr.  President  :  I  do  not  propose  at  this  hour 
to  indulge  in  any  extended  eulogy  on  the  life  or 
services  of  Judge  Low.  Others  have  spoken  upon 
this  floor  whose  acquaintanceship  with  him  ex- 
tended over  a  greater  period  of  time  than  my 
own,  and  who,  perhaps,  have  a  stronger  and 
greater  familiarity  with  the  eminent  services 
which  he  has  rendered  to  the  people  of  his  dis- 
trict and  of  the  State.  It  was  my  good  fortune, 
as  a  member  of  the  lower  branch  of  the  State 
Legislature,  to  have   witnessed  during   the   past 

S3 


LjccjisUttiiic  gvocccdincjs. 


three  years  the  services  which  he  rendered  to 
the  people  of  the  State,  in  this,  the  upper 
branch.  I  noticed  that  while  brilliancy  was  not 
a  distinguishing  characteristic  of  his  nature  or  of 
his  mental  power,  he  had  that  energy,  that 
fidelity  to  trust,  that  power  of  application  which 
unfortunately,  as  a  combination,  is  so  rare  in  our 
public  servants. 

Mr.  President,  we  differed  as  a  minority  from 
the  political  views  expressed  and  entertained  by 
Judge  Low.  We  admired  the  many  manly  quali- 
ties of  his  nature,  we  appreciated  his  virtues, 
we  recognized  his  courtesy  and  frankness  upon 
all  occasions,  when  a  political  contest  was  injected 
into  any  measures  upon  this  floor.  Widely  differ- 
ing from  him  as  we  did  upon  principles  involv- 
ing many  public  enactments,  we  recognized, 
after  all,  that  so  far  as  he  was  concerned,  he  was 
influenced  by  an  honest  judgment  and  a  desire 
to  perform  his  public  services  in  accordance 
with  what  he  believed  to  be  the  best  and  truest 
interests  of  the  people  of  this  State.  It  is  for 
that,  Mr.  President,  that  the  Democratic  minority 
upon  this  floor  respect,  honor  and  revere  his 
memory  to-night.  To  those  virtues  which  have 
been  so  eloquently  alluded  to  by  others,  permit 
me  to  say,  that  those  were  the  principles  which 
underlay  all    the   public   actions    which    he  per- 

54 


Jn  gXcnxoriam. 


formed  upon  this  floor.  The  principles  which 
influenced  his  conduct,  and  upon  which  he  based 
his  official  acts  were  those,  Mr.  President,  which 
we  would  have  inculcated  and  imitated  by  the 
rising  generation  and  the  generations  that  are  to 

follow. 

"These  will  resist  the  empire  of  decay 
When  time  is  o'er  and  worlds  have  rolled  away  ; 
Cold  in  the  dust  the  perished  heart  may  lie, 
But  that  which  warmed  it  once  shall  never  die." 

Senator  Fassett  spoke  as  follows  : 

Mr.  President  :  The  lateness  of  the  hour  ad- 
monishes me,  that  whatever  I  may  have  to  say 
should  be  brief.  These  testimonials  of  regard, 
of  tender  appreciation,  of  affection  and  admira- 
tion for  our  friend,  have  moved  me  strongly. 
They  are  to  me  as  they  must  be  to  all  who 
knew  him,  echoes  of  our  own  emotions  — reflec- 
tions of  our  knowledge  of  the  man.  I  can  not 
hope  to  bring  to  the  altar,  I  do  not  bring,  an 
elaborate  and  splendid  garland,  but  my  own  rela- 
tions to  Judge  Low  were  such  that  I  feel,  at 
this  time  and  under  these  circumstances,  that  I 
would  be  false  to  myself,  did  I  not  bear  public 
testimony  to  the  affection  and  regard  in  which  I 
held  him  and  hold  his  memory.  It  is  almost 
startling,  Mr.  President,  to  reflect  over  what  a 
span  that   man's   life    extended,  when   measured 


35 


^C0islatluc  gvoccctUngs. 


by  man's  progress.  During  his  relations  to  the 
nation  and  to  the  State  nearly  all  the  great  ma- 
terial forces,  distinctively  modern,  have  been 
invented,  developed  and  applied.  The  world  has 
experienced  its  most  astonishing  era  in  the 
rapidity  of  its  material  progress,  in  whatever 
directions  these  go  to  make  up  human  life  and 
human  interest.  Judge  Low  was  one  of  the  men 
of  a  generation  that  we  regret  to  see  is  passing 
away,  which  brought  about  all  these  marvelous 
changes  in  the  history  of  society.  Think  what 
a  chasm  separates  us  to-day  in  our  material,  our 
intellectual  and  our  political  history,  in  this 
country  alone,  from  the  time  when  Judge  Low 
first  entered  public  life,  and  yet  the  creation  of 
States,  of  fortunes,  of  great  cities  and  marvelous 
enterprises,  witnessed  in  the  last  sixty  years, 
have  been  all  brought  about  by  the  devotion,  the 
integrity,  the  enterprise,  the  industry  of  just  such 
typical  Americans  as  the  friend  we  mourn  to- 
night. Men  die  and  their  individual  memories 
may  fade  away,  but  the  forces  they  originate 
during  life  endure  forever  and  constitute  their 
indestructible  monuments.  It  is  an  appalling 
thought  to  me,  Mr.  President,  and  fraught  with 
many  a  lesson,  to  reflect  that  every  act  and 
every  deed  of  a  man  continues  its  impulses  and 
its  influences  forever,  and    that   the   great   book 

S6 


Jtx  pCcnioriaim 


of  accouDt  is  never  and  can  never  be  closed 
until  heaven  and  earth  have  rolled  away  like  a 
scroll. 

Into    every  fabric  of    this   State    and  of    the 
nation,  as   has    been   testified   to   by  those   who 
know    his    personal    history  well,  has    been    in- 
wrought the  fabric  of  the  life  of  our  dead  friend. 
He  was,  as  has  been    said,  perhaps  not  a  great 
man.      Greatness  comes  to  but  few  men  in  the 
history  of  the  world,  but  he  was  a  valuable  man. 
He  had  about  him  that  which  I  admire  most  of 
all ;  he  was  a  manly  man ;  he  was  a  brave   and 
fair  man;    a  man  with  the  courage  of    his  con- 
victions ;     a  man  who   knew  how   to  think   and 
dared    to  act;    he  was   of   the   men  who  consti- 
tute the  strength  of    our  nation.      It   is    on    the 
shoulders  of  such  men  that  the  stability  of  our 
institutions  rest ;  it  is  from  the  hearts  and  minds 
and  lives  of  such  men,  that  our  great  institutions 
have    derived    their   most    useful    characteristics, 
and  derived  the  guarantee  of   their  solidity  and 
perpetuity.     That  State  is  richest,  Mr.  President, 
that  has  in   its    treasury  the  most  memories    of 
such  men  as  he.     Mr.  President,  that  life  is  not 
successful  which  is  occupied  with    the   accumu- 
lation of  wealth,  with  the  acquisition  of   power, 
or  the  social  influence,  or  the  mere  bestowment 
of  great  charities.      He  only  is   successful  who, 


S7 


^CCjisUttlDC   ^VOCCCtUUQS. 


by  his  life  in  the  world,  does  something  to  make 
some  one  somewhat  better  and  happier  for 
having  lived.  Tested  by  that  touchstone  we  all 
know  that  the  life  of  our  friend  was  eminently 
successful  ;  for  all  the  long  path  of  his  life  has 
been  strewn  those  little  unrecorded  acts  and 
words  of  love  and  kindness  which  endear  man 
to  his  fellows.  Measured  by  that  line  the  life  of 
our  friend  was  successful.  And  yet  it  happened 
to  him  to  reap  as  bountifully  of  the  rewards  of 
fame  as  happens  to  most  men. 

Viewed  from  the  standpoint  of  eternity  there 
is  not  much  difference  in  men's  lives.  It  matters 
not  whether  a  man  be  cut  down  at  twenty,  in 
the  flower  of  youth  ;  at  forty,  in  the  full  vigor  of 
middle-age,  or  falls  to  sleep  at  sixty.  Measured 
from  the  distance  of  eternity,  that  life  only  is 
long  which  answers  life's  great  end,  and  that 
is,  by  helping  to  lift  the  world  a  little  higher 
and  leading  fellow -men  a  little  nearer  to  each 
other. 

What  more  then,  Mr.  President,  could  a  man 
ask  than  that  it  might  truthfully  be  said  of  him, 
when  he  has  passed  away,  not  that  he  was  a 
great  man,  but  that  he  lived  upon  the  earth  a 
life  long  and  successful. 

The  life  is  more  than  breath  and  the  quick 
round  of   blood  ;   it  is  a  great  spirit  and  a  busy 

S8 


heart.  We  count  time  by  heart  throbs,  not  by 
figures  on  a  dial.  He  lives  most  who  feels  the 
most,  thinks  the  noblest  and  acts  the  best  for 
God  and  fellow-man. 

Senator  Veddek  spoke  as  follows  : 

Mr.  Pkesident  :  I  am  deeply  moved  by  the  pro- 
ceedings of   this  hour.    Not  often,  if   ever,  have 
more  heartfelt,  eloquent  words  fallen  from  the  lips 
of  men,  and  yet,  how  useless,  after  all,  words  are, 
to  fully  express  either  a  deep  love  or  a  great  sorrow. 
At  such  a  time  as  this  only  the  heart  can  speak, 
and   its   language    are    sighs    and    tears.      Those 
flowers  on  yonder  desk  are  more  eloquent  than 
human  utterances.    The  vacant  chair  is  the  orator 
who  speaks  to  us  to-night.     On  the  23d  day  of 
September,  1826,  at  Fallsburgh,   Sullivan  county, 
N.  Y.,  Senator  Low  was  born.     His  early  youth 
was  passed   working  on  a  farm      He  then  read 
law,  was  in  due  time  admitted  to  the  bar  and  in 
1856   was    elected    county    judge    and    surrogate. 
Before   the    end    of    his    term    as   judge,  he  was 
elected  to    the  Senate  of   this   State  and  served 
three   terms    during    the    war    period.      Born   in 
poverty,  working  on  a  farm,  schooling  himself  in 
the    winter   with    the    earnings    of    the   summer, 
were   the    splendid    preparation    and  magnificent 
equipment  by  which  he  climbed  the  rugged  steps 


which  lead  to  the  cloudless  heights  of  fame. 
The  pleasing  task  of  tracing  instance  by  instance 
the  gathering  forces  by  which  his  conquests  over 
measures  and  the  faith  of  men  were  won,  is  for 
the  historian  rather  than  the  eulogist,  and  I  will 
speak  only  of  those  things  which  all  his  asso- 
ciates saw  and  all  his  acquaintances  knew.  As 
a  Senator,  during  the  dark  days  of  the  war,  no 
man  from  that  high  ground  did  more  than  he 
to  keep  New  York,  not  only  in  the  orbit,  but  in 
the  van  of  patriotic  States.  To  his  contempo- 
raries he  was  as  a  "pillar  of  cloud  by  day  and  a 
pillar  of  fire  by  night,"  by  which  the  good  ship 
our  Father  launched  was  guided  over  the  sea  of 
trouble  to  the  shores  of  peace.  He  was  not 
supremely  great  in  any  one  distinguishing  char- 
acteristic, but  there  was  such  a  blending  and  har- 
mony of  every  noble  faculty  that  men  wondered, 
not  so  much  at  any  one  of  his  grand  traits  as  they 
marveled  at  the  greatness  and  completeness  of 
them  all.  He  bore  his  faculties  so  meek,  was 
so  clear  in  his  office  as  Senator,  and  was  so  for- 
tressed  with  truth  and  right,  that  all  the  shafts 
of  political  criticism  fell  broken  and  hurtless  at 
his  feet.  As  an  orator  he  was  neither  vehement 
nor  painfully  aggressive,  but  was,  after  all,  singu- 
larly effective.  He  did  not  speak  often,  but  when 
he    did    speak    he    spoke    with    the    fervor    of 


60 


honesty,  the  persuasiveness  of  knowledge  and  the 
eloquence  of  truth.  He  had  the  ability  of 
patience,  the  talent  of  indomitable  will  and  the 
genius  of  hard  work.  He  loved  to  labor  and  he 
knew  how  to  wait.  He  had  ambition,  it  is  true, 
but  it  was  not  of  the  vaulting  kind  ;  he  raised 
himself  by  lifting  others.  His  ambition  was  to 
lay  deep  and  broad  the  foundation  of  States 
upon  the  corner-stones  of  liberty,  equality  and 
justice,  to  "scatter  plenty  o'er  a  smiling  land" 
and  to  read  a  people's  joy  in  a  people's  eyes. 
His  integrity  was  as  Tineriffe  in  the  ocean,  con- 
spicuous and  against  which  the  waves  of  wrong 
dashed  and  broke.  "  It  was  solid  as  the  earth  be- 
neath, pure  as  the  stars  above."  He  was  heroic 
and  yielded  to  nothing  but  his  conscience.  He 
was  also  gentle  ;  his  manly  soul  loved  the  voice 
of  the  winter's  storm  and  yet  his  kindly  nature 
was  responsive  to  the  gentle  whispering  of  a 
calm  summer's  evening.  The  horizon  of  his  soul 
was  enlarged  by  the  visions  he  saw  from  his 
native  mountain  peaks  and  his  spirit  was  refined 
by  the  songs  of  the  morning  and  the  daisies  by 
the  country  roadside.  But  he  has  gone  !  He 
has  traveled  the  pathway  which  leads  to  the 
stars.  Grandly  as  he  lived  and  as  nobly  and 
without  fear  he  passed  through  the  dark  gates 
of  death  and  entered    into  the  endless  sunshine 

61 


J^ccjisUttlxJC  gvocccdiucjs. 


of  the  grave.  To  his  family  and  neighbors  he 
was  a  favorite  flower  cut  down  in  the  garden  of 
domestic  love.  To  us  he  has  fallen  as  a  stately 
oak  in  the  stillness  of  the  woods.  Able  statesman  ! 
Beloved  citizen  !     Admirable  man !     Farewell. 

Weed  clean  his  grave,  you  men  of   genius, 

For  he  was  your  kinsman. 
Strew  flowers  o'er  his  tomb,  you  men  of   goodness, 

For  he  was  your  brother. 

The  President  put  the  question  whether  the 
Senate  would  agree  to  said  resolutions  and  they 
were  unanimously  adopted  by  a  rising  vote. 

Whereupon  the  Senate  adjourned. 


62 


%n  UXcmoviam. 


CONCURRENT  RESOLUTION 


SENATE  AND   ASSEMBLY. 


STATE  OF  NEW  YOKK: 

In  Senate, 

February  6,  1889. 

Senator  Coggeshall  offered  the  following : 

Resolved  (if  the  Assembly  concur),  That  there  be 
printed  for  the  use  of  the  Senate,  by  the  contractor  to 
do  the  public  or  legislative  printing,  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  Clerk  of  the  Senate,  five  thousand  copies 
of  the  proceedings  of  the  Senate  upon  the  death  of 
Hon.  Henry  R.  Low,  late  Senator  from  the  thirteenth 
district,  held  February  4,  1889. 

STATE  OF  NEW  YORK:  STATE  OF  NEW  YORK : 

In  Senate,  i  In  Assembly  ( 

Fehrxinry  6,  1889.  \  Fehrwiry,  7,  1889.  * 

The     foregoing     resolution     was     duly  The      foregoing    resolution     was      duly 
jed                                                                               concurred    in. 

By' order  of  the  Senate.  By  order  of  the  Assembly. 

JOHN  S.  KENYON,  CHAS.  A.  CHICKERING, 

Clerk.  ClerJc. 


63 


THE  UBSAEY 
trMIVERgm  OF  «4LirORNIA 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

Los  Angeles 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


*F  11. Y.    (state)   - 

124         iVoceedinrs   of 
L95M     the  3emte  of 

the  state   of 
Nov;-  York, 


'^.^ 


^^i-^: 


•^^' 


Pt^l 


--    ^ 


A'>: 


..■^. 


%,^  \' 


J. "  ^  •^■ 


L*v1j' 


.J»  f 


-^<- 


■<e' 


.-•  v.; .' 


!        J 


^  'tis 


